My mother, daughter, and I traveled to Greece this summer to celebrate my daughter’s graduation from high school. None of us had ever been to Europe before and the farthest we had traveled was Mexico. We did a lot of things right and there were things we would do differently. We had a fabulous trip and made amazing memories that will last a lifetime. I wanted to make an online “scrapbook” of our vacation, plus I received so many inquiries about our trip that I decided to make a blog about our experience!

Why Greece? Honestly, My daughter chose it. It was her graduation trip and after I googled “Santorini” I was sold by the pictures alone.

Planning for Your Trip – Deciding Where To Stay

Greece is made up of MANY islands – not just Santorini. You need to decide what type of vacation YOU want to have. We decided we wanted to have a mostly relaxed and chill vacation with a little bit of excitement. We also were obsessed with the pictures of the views in Santorini and wanted to learn about the history in the capital – Athens.

We decided to have a “business in the front, party in the back” type of Greek vacation and spent our first three days in Athens and then a week in Santorini. It was definitely the right decision for us!

If we were to go back, some other destinations we would add would be Mykonos and Crete.

Once you have decided on the actual locations in Greece you want to visit, it’s time to book your accommodations. This is another personal preference that you need to think about. We were three women traveling for ten days and we wanted at least two bedrooms and enough space to not be on top of each other while we were getting ready.

In Athens, we booked a two bedroom/one bathroom apartment with a balcony through expedia.com. It was called Petal Apartments and was 590 Euros for the two nights. It was located right in central Athens within walking distance to all the main attractions. The owner was fabulous at communicating and was waiting for us outside when we arrived to bring our (heavy) suitcases inside. The place was modern, clean, comfortable and spacious. We would definitely stay there again.

In Santorini there are several locations on the island to choose to stay – the main vacation spots are Oia, Imerovigli, and Fira. We chose Oia based on the views.

In Oia, we really wanted something different than a typical hotel. We also don’t have the last name Kardashian so we were on a budget. We came across Ifestio Villas and fell in love! Ifestio Villas has several villas to choose from – we chose Villa Agis which is a three bedroom, two bathroom traditional cave villa in Oia. The rates vary depending on when you travel – we traveled June 3-13 (June 6-13 in Oia). I would highly recommend going around the same time we did, it was perfect weather and was just starting to get hot as we left. Locals said that May is a little chilly and July-August are very hot. The weather app said it was in the 70’s while we were there, but it felt like the 80’s.

As much as I loved our villa, if I went back to Santorini with my husband I would stay somewhere else in Oia. This villa suited the three of us perfectly, but there are TONS of other amazing villas we saw while we were there and I would chose a more posh, romantic, modern villa for a couple’s getaway (but that’s just my preference). I will give you the pros and cons of Villa Agis…

Pros:

• Most private villa I saw on this side of the island. It was at the bottom of the cliff, so no one ever needed to walk by our villa to get to theirs. There were also trees on the left giving us privacy from our neighbors and there were no neighbors on the right. It was a quiet location where we could relax.
• The view was incredible.
• The private pool and separate sun deck below was perfection.
• The villa was large and felt like a home – plenty of room for three women to get ready separately without stepping on anyone’s toes.
• The owner of the property (Katerina) and her assistant (Sofia) were super attentive. It was like having your own private attendant. They gave us a cell phone to keep with us and we could call them anytime for anything. They stocked the fridge with wine, champagne, lunchmeat, cheese, freshly made jam, bread, freshly squeezed orange juice, water, milk, and more daily! Sofia also does your laundry daily and cleans the villa! It really was a huge bonus. Katerina also will give the best recommendations and book all of your activities for you!
• The beds are comfortable. They look unconventional and aren’t the hotel white beds you might be accustomed to when traveling, but they were super soft and I slept well every night (and I have a horrible back).
• The location was right off the main walkway where all of the shops and restaurants are. We could walk almost everywhere!
• It felt “Greek”. I know this sounds silly, but we didn’t want to stay in a place with typical hotel features. We wanted something authentic and traditional and this villa hits the nail on the head for that!

Cons:

• Since the villa is super private and at the bottom of the cliff, it means you have to walk down many steps to get to it and then walk UP those steps to get back out. When I heard it was 160 steps I thought it wasn’t a big deal. I was out of breath panting and taking breaks along the way every. single. time. This could be viewed as a pro for people who like to work out, but I am not one of those people 😉

• We realized the second to last night that there was no air conditioner! The place was always cool enough so we never noticed, but the second to last night we felt a little warm and went to look for the thermostat and it was no where to be found because there wasn’t one! The place has three fans and it was like glamping the last two nights. However, if you travel later in the summer (late June – Aug) I would find a villa with AC.
• The showers are a little different. The master shower gets water all over the floor because it just has a little lip at the bottom and no tub. That wasn’t a huge deal though because Sofia comes everyday to clean. The other blue cave like shower is actually a jacuzzi tub with a detachable shower head – no shower curtain. So basically I took a bath every day and used the hand held shower head to wash my hair. It was a little tricky to get used to, but I didn’t mind. However, if you are picky about your bathroom routines and are expecting a 5 star bathroom look somewhere else. This is a cave lol.
• As awesome as it is that there is daily cleaning, laundry service, and restocking of food items – it means you need to be out of the villa at a decent time. I don’t mean 8am or anything but one day we slept in and waited until 11am to leave and that was a little late for the cleaners. They prefer to clean the villa by 10:30am so if you are a late sleeper this would be a con for you. It doesn’t mean you have to be dressed and actually leave – we would lay out and be in the pool while she cleaned some days. Tough life, I know.
• Lastly, I will just reiterate that it is a CAVE villa. So the place isn’t perfect. It’s old and has character. We loved it, but depending on what type of vacation you are looking for you might not. It is cozy and has a quaint, homey feel.

So if I went back and wanted a different experience, where would I stay? I saw two that looked amazing that I would seriously consider: Andronis Boutique Hotel and Kaleidoscope Luxury Cave House. They are more expensive than where we stayed, but they are super luxurious and you have to pay for that.

You’ve Picked Your Villa…Now What?

Time to start planning activities! We like to rest and have no plans one day and then do an active excursion the next. We call it “a day on, a day off”. It really works and doesn’t mean you have to do absolutely nothing on your day off, but it gives you the option to sleep in, lay out, and just be spontaneous. Here are the activities we chose and did:

ATHENS:

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We decided to do a private tour of Athen’s on our second day. I can not stress enough how amazing our tour guide was and HIGHLY recommend him for anyone traveling to Greece. Theodore with Athens Taxi Tour 360 literally MADE our entire trip while we were in Athens. Trust me and book him NOW. I included my review below!

Just in case you are crazy and don’t book Theodore for whatever reason, let me share a hack he taught us that you NEED to do. No one else knew to do this except us, thanks to Theodore.

When you go to watch the changing of the guards (which is a very cool experience) stand in the very back and wait for the guards to come marching. Everyone else will be pushing and trying to stand up at the very front – DON’T STAND THERE. Stand in the very back where no one is and wait. Once the guards start marching towards you they will cut left down the middle…. jump behind them immediately and start marching directly behind them! You are allowed to and aren’t breaking any rules! You will literally be marching right behind them up until the white line and then you must STOP! You will then have the front and center best spot in the whole place! It will be a memory you will never forget. It might not make total sense reading this so watch the video below:

Theodore was also so amazing that he picked us up at 5:15am the next day to take us to the airport for our flight to Santorini!

Restaurants in Athens

Our first day in Athens we ate at Ano Dioskouroi. It was a delicious introduction to the authentic Greek food we were about to feast on for 10 days. We started with a goat cheese and honey appetizer in a pastry crust. We all had Greek salad (which doesn’t have lettuce BTW!) and chicken souvlaki. Everything was delicious!

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Our second night we ate at Smile Restaurant. I ordered the super traditional “moussaka” and my mom ordered another traditional dish called “Pastitsio”. They are very similar dishes with the only difference being the moussaka is made with eggplant and the pastitsio is made with noodles. When the dishes came bubbling in a glazed clay pot the server brought it to our noses to smell. We immediately realized why this was such a Greek staple and soon finished our meals. It was delicious. They were a mixture of potatoes, eggplant/noodles, mildly spicy ground beef, cheese, and creamy bechamel sauce. The closest thing in the US that I can compare it to is like a greek Shepard’s pie. There was a cute little rock painting area that was 1 euro that we did while we waited for our food. The house red wine was on point! You’ll see an ashtray in my picture and that reminds me to tell you that there are lots of smokers in Greece! Just an FYI.

Maddie was back at the apartment napping so we ordered her dinner to go. As we were walking back with her food, I tripped and went flying with her Greek salad and my iphone. My phone made it unscathed, her Greek salad was now a salad in a bag, and my leg was scraped up, but nothing that I haven’t experienced before unfortunately (accident prone). Moral of the story is the roads are uneven so be careful!

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Santorini Activities

Our first excursion was a catamaran trip! We booked it through www.getyourguide.com. I highly recommend booking this exact trip. It was 5 hours, included a BBQ meal cooked on the boat with all the sides and authentic greek appetizers, unlimited open bar, snorkeling, music, and transportation to and from your villa. They take you to several spots around the caldera/volcano and the views are spectacular. The crew are young, fun, and extremely knowledgeable about Greece. Fun trip!

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Shopping! Yes, this is an excursion! We spent several days shopping, but I will point you to a couple stores that I feel are worth specifically finding.

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• For unique, but on trend earrings and jewelry: σουσαγι ανοίξει, or “Open Sesame”, a handmade silk and jewelry shop.

• For handmade greek clothing that is affordable and gorgeous: Selestina’s House Boutique.

Next up: Kissing Fish Pedicure! I was not planning on doing this and it was completely spontaneous, but I am so glad we did! The fish don’t have teeth and it didn’t hurt at all. It sounds gross, but it was such a fun experience and I would definitely recommend it!

Another incredible excursion we went on was the Winery, Brewery, and Foodie Tour! The owner of our villa connected us with Santorini Wine Trails. We booked a 4 hour tour with an amazing guide named Eleni Petrou that included a visit to two wineries, a family owned farm, a microbrewery, and an 80 year old vineyard. During the tour we tasted all of the major types of wines produced on the island of Santorini, tasted local foods, and sampled unfiltered and unpasterized beers. It was a small group – just the three of us and a sweet young honeymooning couple who were great company from Minnesota. Highly recommend this tour and ask for Eleni!

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Although the next activity is actually a restaurant, I consider it an excursion because we had to take a taxi there, the live music was great, and it’s more of an experience than just a meal! Cat lovers will be in heaven. Make sure you go a little later for dinner – live music starts at 8pm. Its’s called Santorini Mou’s and you are sure to have a good time!

I will warn you, you must love cats! And if you don’t… then don’t feed them like my daughter did. Otherwise, you will have a problem on your hands (or lap!)

One last thing about Santorini Mou’s is that if you are expecting a quick or normal length dinnertime – or have plans afterwards that are on a specific schedule, this isn’t the right pick for that evening. This is a long dinner where you stay and enjoy the music, the staff pass around photos of family & famous customers (they are very proud of Jennifer Anniston), and you leave late. Enjoy! Yamas!

Santorini Restaurants

Let’s start with gelato 🙂 There are many gelato shops throughout Santorini… go to Lolita’s! It is so fresh and delicious! The coconut was a fav for all of us. I also was obsessed with the mango. We may or may not have had multiple visits to this shop!

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Thalami Restaurant

Thalami is a must! It’s right in the center of Oia and has amazing views of the caldera/volcano. We didn’t have a reservation and this is the table we sat at:

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Now look at this Lobster Pasta! We destroyed it! So good!

Ammoudi Fish Tavern was bittersweet. I would still recommend it, but the reason I say it was bittersweet was because we didn’t expect the trek to the restaurant to be equivalent to hiking Mt. Everest! If you want to go to this restaurant or ANY restaurant on Ammoudi Bay (there are a few) TAKE A TAXI! DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT walk! Google maps will do you wrong and tell you it’s a 7 min walk and you will feel confident… but don’t be fooled, call a taxi. It’s only 10 euros and it will save you from having a heat stroke/heart attack. I tried to take a video after the fact, but it’s hard to see the millions of stairs in the distance:

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3B Restaurant is an all day spot for food – we took advantage of this restaurant early in the morning before our catamaran excursion. It is located right by the taxi/bus station where everyone gets picked up, so it is really convenient. If you order the waffles – beware they add chocolate without asking 🙂 Not a bad thing, it’s just definitely worthy of sharing!

1800 Floga was another yummy restaurant we ate at. My daughter and mom LOVED their pasta with chicken dish. I had the salmon and it was delicious! Central location and super convenient!

Mary Kay’s Bar was a stop we made honestly when we were lagging in energy and needing a pick me up. We stopped for smoothies and they offered to put alcohol in the smoothies… ummm yes please!? So basically it was like a Smoothie King but with adding rum/vodka. They also had sandwiches and other food options. We shared a turkey hoagie between the three of us. Everything tasted amazing!

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Sunset Taverna was in the same location as Ammoudi Bay Fish Tavern, but because we learned the hard way from walking before – it was a much better experience because we knew to take a taxi! The view was better here for the sunset and the experience was overall more enjoyable as well. I highly recommend this restaurant! Service was impeccable and the food was delicious!

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Skala Restaurant was one of my favorites. I accidentally ordered a dish that was meant for the table (6 fish!) but it ended up being the most delicious meal I ate during the ENTIRE trip! These fish tasted like sweet lobster, but were a tender white flaky fish – drool worthy! The waiter was super sweet and brought us shots twice (just because!). The dessert was to die for and again came with dessert shots! It was a beautiful view and such a pleasant evening. One of our best nights!

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Catch Restaurant was the last place we dined at in Santorini. It did not disappoint. It was high end, high quality, and a perfect sunset view. Definitely recommend!

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What to Pack (and what not to)

If you travel in early to mid June like we did – pack for warm weather. Your weather app might tell you it’s going to be 71 and to you that’s chilly… but 71 in Santorini feels like 81. You will need one light weight cardigan or coverup just in case you are out at night and it gets breezy, but other than that dress for the summer.

The dress code in Santorini is casual, but lots of people are dressed nice because they want that instagram pic in a cute outfit! I brought a combo of sundresses/shorts and tanks/rompers/skirts/a few nice dresses.

You won’t need to pack a TON of jewelry because again you will be shopping and then you’ll want to wear your new stuff. The jewelry shopping there is so affordable and gorgeous!

If you have a private pool at your villa, there’s really no need for 10 coverups or coordinating flip flops etc. Pack light! I brought 3 swimsuits for 10 days and that was perfect.

You will need several European Adapters for the electrical outlets. I would bring one per person minimum. The ones with the USB ports are the best and they are cheap on Amazon.

Go to the Happy Feet Store and invest in a pair of Birkenstocks. Even if you hate the way they look, you need them! I wore mine almost every single day and they saved my feet from all of the walking. Aside from the Birkenstocks I would bring one pair of sandals that are a little dressier (flat sandals), and a pair of rubber flip flops to wear around the pool. There are amazing leather sandals to buy in Greece so you won’t need to bring more than 2 pairs in my opinion!

My mom swore by these natural supplements she took on the plane to prevent jet-lag. She got them on Amazon!

Only bring purses that can be worn cross body and in the front. Do not wear a backpack (unless you wear it on the front of your body). Fanny packs work well too, just be sure to get the kind that go on like a belt, not a clip that can be pulled off. Pickpocketers are very common in Greece -especially in Athens, like in many big cities. Unfortunately, my mom was a victim of a pickpocketer our first night while she was wearing a backpack. Luckily, the thief was only able to get away with a makeup bag – but it could have been much worse! From that point on we wore everything on the front. Learn from us! Here are some of our front style purses we wore:

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Come prepared with your money already exchanged to Euros. You can do it at your bank or at any Currency Exchange. My mom exchanged hers at the bank and I exchanged mine at the International Mall in Tampa.

Don’t bring a ton of American dollars. Most places don’t accept it and it’s just one more valuable you’ll have that will be at risk of being stolen. Everywhere takes euros and credit cards. American Express isn’t taken everywhere so stick to Visa and MasterCard. We used euros for the majority of the trip. Places will barter with you and give you deals with cash (euros), but sometimes charge a fee to use a card. Try to get smaller bills of euros and do not get any $200 bills because many places will not break them.

These headphones saved me on the long flight. They are noise canceling and super comfortable. I fell asleep for hours with them on my head. They also helped me fall asleep at night sometimes in our villa. Make sure you download all your Spotify playlists and the calm app to sleep.

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This Vera Bradley Travel Pillow/Blanket was an awesome gift from my mother-in-law that kept us comfy on the plane. There is a strap to connect it to your suitcase handle too which makes it convenient while walking.

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Again, pack LIGHT because you will do a good amount of shopping in Greece and will end up wearing your new clothes while you’re there! You’ll have tons of souvenirs and won’t have room in your luggage. You will end up paying lots of fees for overweight luggage. Don’t bring high heels, jeans, long sleeves, more than one light weight jacket, too many shoes (because remember those Birkenstocks!), or too many t-shirts/PJ’s/yoga pants/casual clothes.

Do It!

This trip was AMAZING. Making memories traveling to beautiful places that have history with people you love is something that can’t have a value placed on it. The three of us will always remember Greece, and I cherish the time we had there. Bite the bullet, pull the trigger, and start planning your trip with loved ones to Greece! We are already planning our next European adventure! Yamas!